Pirates Could Happen to Anyone
by mrspencil
Summary: A simple yet rewarding life, a ship to call his own, content to roam where circumstance and tide and fate decided. No complicated loyalties, until one fateful day, when blacksmith, ancient pirate curse and governor's girl collided. Final part posted.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N : _

_I have been enticed over to this fandom by nytd and her excellent story, "A Study in Rum". I have not written anything for Pot C before. This is a slightly different approach to "The Curse of the Black Pearl" in narrative verse, 3 chapters in all. _

_Many thanks to nytd for advice, encouragement and title suggestion :)_

_The title is a quote by Tom Stoppard._

_Any mistakes are my own._

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Pirates of the Caribbean, nor do I make any money out of playing with them._

_Spoilers : for "The Curse of the Black Pearl " (quite a lot of spoilers.)_

* * *

**Part 1**

* * *

A sailing ship,

Jamaica bound.

A tragedy

At sea.

A boy adrift with pirate gold,

A young girl's calm decision.

The gold now safely round her neck,

His pirate links concealed.

A glimpse of masts and pirate flag,

A ghostly apparition.

* * *

A pirate bold,

A buccaneer,

A renegade,

A rogue.

A master of that ancient trade

Which plagues the seven oceans.

A firmly held philosophy

Of self above all else,

With no responsibility

Or altruistic notions.

* * *

A blacksmith lad,

A love-sick swain,

An orphaned child,

Alone.

A craftsman of the finest kind

With noble aspirations.

His eyes on something brighter

Than a future in the forge,

But hampered by his lack

Of pedigree and known relations.

* * *

A governor's girl,

A maiden fair,

Her father's pride

And joy.

Compelled to follow dutifully

Society's conventions.

But underneath the strait-laced clothes,

And prim demure façade,

She's yearning for a future

Of less lady-like dimensions.

* * *

A pirate ship,

A treasure chest,

An ancient map,

A curse.

A story filled with basic greed,

Revenge and double dealing.

Condemned to spend eternity

Upon the ocean waves,

With just a distant memory

Of hope and human feeling.

* * *

A simple, yet

Rewarding life,

A ship to call

His own.

Content to roam where circumstance,

And tide and fate decided.

No complicated loyalties

Until one fateful day,

When blacksmith, ancient pirate curse,

And governor's girl collided.

* * *

A bodice tightened

Far too much,

A fall in to

The sea.

The weight of layers of petticoats

Ensures complete submersion.

The pirate sailing close at hand

Who finds he can't ignore

The unexpected urge to make

A chivalrous diversion.

* * *

With dripping walls

Of cold dank stone,

And iron bars;

A jail.

A strange reward for rescuing

The governor's precious daughter.

Although quite used to dealing with

Odd twists and turns of fate,

If faced with such a choice again

He'd leave her in the water.

* * *

A missing piece

Of Aztec gold,

The pendant round

Her neck.

A pirate raid one stormy night,

Which ends in her abduction.

The blacksmith and the pirate forced

To seek some common ground.

Her rescue (and the pirate's plans)

Require a joint production.

* * *

As moonlight streams

Upon the deck,

All flesh dissolves

To bone.

She sees the ancient Aztec curse

In all its dreadful glory.

The crew exist as ghosts of men,

Eternally decayed,

Unless the final missing piece

Can end their endless story.

* * *

_to be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

* * *

A naval ship

Now "commandeered".

Two captains but

No crew.

A disciplined and loyal team

Is vital to their mission.

Instead they reach Tortuga's shores;

A wild and lawless place,

Where every thief and drunk in town

Applies for each position.

* * *

The pirate was

A captain once,

The Black Pearl was

His ship.

Till mutineers, Barbossa led,

The Aztec gold discovered.

Marooned, while all who stole were cursed,

Enduring living death,

Until each thief had spilled his blood,

And every coin recovered.

* * *

One single man

Did not betray

His captain or

His ship.

The price he paid for loyalty;

A pirate execution.

Abandoned to the ocean depths

With none to mourn his fate.

His son, the blacksmith lad (of course)

May now seek retribution.

* * *

With pirate gold

Around her neck,

She's clearly

Pirate kin.

The last surviving relative

They need for their salvation.

The Isle de Muerta reached at last,

Her blood and Aztec gold.

Returning it, alas, does not

Reverse their transformation.

* * *

The blacksmith for

His long lost ship.

The pirate strikes

A deal.

This comes to naught, Barbossa wins

A hard-fought altercation.

The blacksmith's sacrifice ensures

That only he is lost.

The pirate and the girl are found

A different destination.

* * *

Marooned upon

A desert isle,

With lots and lots

Of rum.

She's found the perfect fuel

For an impressive conflagration.

The beacon's seen for miles around,

The pirate's not convinced

That burning all the alcohol

Improves his situation.

* * *

A wedding for

The blacksmith's life.

The girl now strikes

A deal.

The Commodore thus joins their side,

A rescue bid commences.

While pirate and Barbossa talk,

The ghostly crew set forth.

Approaching from the ocean's floor

Should thwart the ship's defences.

* * *

The governor's girl

In pirate garb

Now rescues all

The crew,

Expecting them to help her

With her noble undertaking.

Instead, the Black Pearl crew decide

Discretion suits them best,

And sail away, quite unconcerned

At whom they are forsaking.

* * *

_to be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

******A/N: **

_Thanks to all who have taken a look at this, and those who have reviewed. Feedback is always appreciated. And thanks again to nytd and to Lemon Zinger for continuing encouragement :)_

_Disclaimer, I own no elements of the Pirates of the Caribbean, and make no money from them._

* * *

**Part 3**

* * *

A prisoner in

The treasure cave,

The blacksmith's end

Is nigh.

Barbossa hopes the blacksmith's death

Will let the curse be broken.

The pirate and the governor's girl

Intend to save the day,

The pirate's not completely sure

What instincts she's awoken.

* * *

Barbossa and

The pirate bold

Are face to face

At last.

The opportunity to see

If ancient wrongs are righted.

The pirate grabs an Aztec coin

To even up the odds.

The blacksmith and the governor's girl

Are once more reunited.

* * *

As moonlight streams

Around the cave,

And flesh dissolves

To bone,

The pirate and Barbossa duel;

A final confrontation.

The girl is in the line of fire,

Her comrades act as one,

As both return their Aztec coins

To trigger restoration.

* * *

So flesh returns

To living bones,

And mortal wounds

Can kill.

The pirate takes advantage

Of this altered situation.

To save the governor's girl (again)

He brings Barbossa down,

Who takes one single living breath,

A final exhalation.

* * *

The Commodore

Then reappears,

He's beaten back

The foe.

Barbossa's crew, now living men,

Rejoice in their condition.

They leave the treasure where it lies,

Begin the journey home.

The pirate's in the brig once more,

His regular position.

* * *

The blacksmith lad

Has gained then lost

The girl he's long

Adored.

The deal she struck to save his life

Has cost him her devotion.

The pirate's earned a strange reward;

His prize, a hangman' s noose.

He knows he really should regret

That rescue from the ocean.

* * *

The Commodore

Should be content,

He has his prize

At last.

He's loved the governor's girl for years;

Her voice, her smile, her beauty.

He knows she'll keep her wedding vows

And knows how high the cost.

And hanging one more pirate rogue,

Is just a routine duty.

* * *

But when the rogue

Is due to hang,

The blacksmith can't

Stand by.

He hopes to save the pirate's life

Despite the risks he's taking.

They stand, defeated, side by side;

Two prisoners now, not one.

The Commodore then makes a choice,

Although his heart is breaking.

* * *

The governor's girl

Can break her vow,

The blacksmith lad

Is hers.

The rogue can leave; the Navy won't

Pursue him till the morning.

The blacksmith and his lady watch

The pirate leave the shore.

The Black Pearl waits for his return,

A bright new day is dawning.

* * *

The End...almost.

* * *

A monkey in

The treasure cave,

A gold piece in

His paw.

Barbossa's body close at hand,

The crew have long departed.

He waves his now skeletal paw,

And moves towards the corpse.

The old adventure's at an end,

A new one has now started...

* * *

The End.


End file.
